Burial vault (enclosure)

Did You Know?

• An urn vault is used for cremated remains to hold the weight of earth and protect the cremains.
• The Haase company purchased several plastics companies to manufacture plastic burial vaults.

Description and usage

The burial vault or liner is designed to bear the weight of earth and heavy cemetery maintenance equipment, preventing the coffin from collapsing and the ground from sinking. Originally, vaults emerged as a deterrent to grave robbers seeking valuables, clothing, or bodies. Early vaults were made of wood, often called a rough box, but by the mid-1800s brick, iron, and later steel were used. The practice of burying jewelry with the deceased declined by the late 1800s, but the utility of vaults in preventing ground settlement became recognized, leading to wider adoption.

Concrete and reinforced concrete vaults became common in the early 20th century. The burial vault was largely unknown until the 1880s, when the L.G. Haase Manufacturing Co., which owned an Illinois cemetery, introduced it as a product line. As late as 1915, only 5 to 10 percent of US funerals used a vault or liner. In the 1930s, Wilbert Haase, influenced by Egyptian mummification, promoted sealed or waterproof vaults to protect the body from water, microbes, and vermin.

The company later acquired plastics firms and began manufacturing plastic vaults; it now dominates the American market with about 12 percent of all vault and liner sales. A modern burial vault encloses the coffin on all sides, top, and bottom. It is lowered into the grave, the coffin placed inside, and a lid seals it. Vaults are made of concrete, metal, or plastic.

Because the sides are attached to the bottom, a vault is generally stronger than a burial liner. Some designs reverse the construction, with only a base under the coffin and a lid forming the sides and top, allowing a better seal.

World usage

Data on burial vault and liner use outside the United States is scarce. They are almost unheard of in China and Japan; cremation is required in China and used in 90 percent of burials in Japan. They are also uncommon in Italy, where burial plots are reused after 10 to 25 years, at which point bones are moved to an ossuary. In the United States, vault use is decreasing due to rising cremation rates, which were 36 percent in 2008 and forecast to reach 59 percent by 2025.

Religious usage

Jewish law does not prohibit burial vaults or liners, and they are permitted where law or cemetery rules require them. However, some argue they are antithetical to traditional Judaism because they inhibit decomposition and are ostentatious, undermining the equality of all people in death. Islamic law mandates a simple funeral; the body should ideally be buried without coffin or vault, though such containers are allowed if legally required. Muslims often prefer separate cemeteries to accommodate this preference.

Criticisms

Burial vaults and liners do not decompose and have been criticized as environmentally unfriendly. Alternatives exist: traditional burials with a casket create settlement that is naturally replaced by the grave mound, while natural or green burials without a casket cause minimal settling. Sunken graves can be remedied by filling in the settled area.